Merry Christmas, Darling
by LupinLover99
Summary: While Remus is away on business, Tonks grapples with their two small children and dreams of Christmas when he returns.


**A/N: **As with many of the fics I have posted lately, this fic was written for a challenge on a LiveJournal community called Metamorfic Moon.

My prompts were: candles and owls

**"Merry Christmas, Darling"**

Tonks rolled over and felt the warm skin of her husband touch hers. She let out a small sigh of contentment and snuggled closer to him. She heard him chuckle low in his sleep when she nosed him playfully in the shoulder. He tried to shrug her off but couldn't and was reduced to giggles, which woke them up completely. She leaned over and kissed his soft, inviting lips and he smiled.

"Merry Christmas, Nymphadora." He whispered huskily, looking at her through his fringe.

"Merry Christmas, Remus." She replied, not even bothering to reprimand him for the use of her first name because he looked so boyish and shaggable right then and there. "Can't you give me a small hint of what my present is?"

A grin takes shape on Remus' stubbly face and he lets out a breath of laughter. "No, I won't tell you. You'll have to wait until tomorrow."

Tonks pouted until Remus adds, "When the children are at their Auntie Ginny's house."

She smiled coquettishly at him and he growled low in his throat. She was just leaning over him to feel those lips on hers once again when she heard a wailing noise in the back of her mind. She tried to push it away, but it was persistent.

And suddenly she was bolt upright in her bed, hair disheveled and eyes bloodshot. She pushed her hair off her face and reluctantly turned to the space next to her on the bed. Remus was not there, it had all been a dream. She sighed and was then jolted by another wail from the neighboring room.

"All right, I'm coming." She murmured, slipping on a housecoat and slippers.

She shuffled into the hallway and turned the knob of the bedroom that Emma, their three-year-old, shared with the new baby, Colin.

When she entered, she saw poor little Emma kneeling on her bed with her hands over her ears. Colin was crying up a storm, standing up in his crib.

"What's wrong, baby?" Tonks asked, lifting Colin out of his crib and gently rocking him. He stopped crying when she held him closer. "That's it, time to go back to sleep. Santa is on his way."

"Will Santa not stop here because of Colin's crying?" Emma asked, removing her hands from her ears.

Tonks smiled, "No, I think he'll come anyway. Santa loves babies, he loves all children."

"I don't." Emma said, crossing her arms and putting a pout on her face.

"Don't say that Emma, Colin's your brother."

"I like him when he's not crying." She said.

Tonks rolled her eyes and glanced at Colin to see if he was asleep yet. She was careful not to stare at him too long. She and Remus had discovered that as soon as you stared at the little baby for a period of time longer than two seconds, he was awake again. Colin seemed to be asleep so she lowered him into his crib and walked over to Emma.

"Time for bed, Emma." She said, kneeling next to the bed.

"But I want to see Santa come!" the little girl pouted.

"You can't see him come. No one can!" Tonks lowered her voice as if to let Emma in on a secret. "You've got to be asleep or he'll pass you by."

Emma gasped and her eyes widened. "Really?"

"Really. Now are you ready to go to sleep?"

Without another word, Emma plopped down on her pillow and cuddled up in her coverlet. Tonks chuckled to herself. "Good night, Emma." She dropped a kiss on the little girl's forehead.

"Good night, mommy." She whispered back.

Tonks smiled, checked once more on the baby and then left the room. Padding back to her room down the hallway, she tried to tell herself that she was going back to sleep. It was always hard for her to slip back into slumber after being awoken in the middle of the night. She shuffled back into her room, shed her housecoat and slippers and slid back into her bed. Closing her eyes, she tried to think sleepy thoughts.

Five minutes later her eyes were wide open and she was studying a crack in the ceiling over her bed. She sighed; there was no getting to bed. It would have been different if Remus was here, if she had his warm body to cuddle up to. She'd had lots of sleepless nights this past year, wanting Remus to be sleeping next to her. It had been this way ever since he had gotten the idea to create a bookselling service. Even with his now permanent teaching job at Hogwarts, they needed a little extra money because of the new baby.

One night while talking, Remus had confessed that he'd always wanted to begin a bookstore or something like it. When the new baby had come it was merely necessity. So, here she was, all along while her husband was out peddling books to late-Christmas-gift-buyers.

Exasperated, she spread out on the bed, trying to fill the whole space and make it seem as though she wasn't so alone. Remus had been gone four nights out of the week now. He had been home during the day because of Hogwarts holiday, but they hadn't really had any alone time. She had to admit that with Remus' work and the children, it was hard to keep up their relationship.

After lying there for a while, her eyes drifted closed and she felt as though she would finally get some sleep. But suddenly she felt something land on her stomach. Almost afraid to see what could be there, Tonks carefully cracked open her eyes.

It was an owl, a tawny brown owl that she recognized as Remus'. She shooed it off her stomach and onto the bed and began contemplating. Should she open the note clutched between its talons? Would it tell her he was returning or that his stay had been extended?

Finally she decided that any news from Remus was good news and she plucked the note from the owl's talons. It hooted thankfully at her and flew out the window of her bedroom into the snowy fields surrounding their house. She watched it go; she watched it fly back to wherever Remus was and wished she could go there too. Coming out of her reverie, she turned her attention to the piece of parchment she held in her hand.

She opened it up and saw the unmistakable script of Remus, so meticulously written and so neat and tidy. So different from her own sloppy scrawl. She began to read.

Nymphadora, (her nose wrinkled at the use of her proper name)

It's nights like these that remind me our life together will not be an easy one. They also remind me; however, of how much I love you and want to spend the rest of my life by your side. I bet the tree looks charming, all lit and decorated. I'm grateful I was able to help set it up with the kids. I promise you, that no matter what I have to do, I will be there in the morning to watch them open their gifts. Oh Tonks, I am so sorry I had to be gone so often during the only time I am not at Hogwarts. I promise I'll make up for it tomorrow when the kids go to visit Harry and Ginny. If you know what I mean.

(Tonks could just imagine his eyebrows waggling in suggestion at her. She grinned.)

I'll see you in the morning, sweetie.

XO,

Remus

Tonks was glad she had opened the note after all. She clutched it to her chest, thinking of how his fingers had touched it only moments ago. She missed him so much and she couldn't wait for tomorrow.

After lying in bed for a few more minutes, Tonks decided to sit in the kitchen and wait up for Remus. Putting on her fancier, silk bathrobe she moseyed over to her vanity. She sat in front of it, wondering how to morph her hair, mousey brown now from her being in a state of repose. She scrunched up her face in concentration and when she opened her eyes again, her hair was ruby red with emerald streaks in it. Festive enough, she thought. She ran a wire brush through her newly colored locks and set off for the kitchen.

Once there, she found a few Christmas candles she had received from Hermione last year as a gift. She decided that lighting them would set the mood, so she struck a match and brought it over and over to the wicks of the several red and green candles placed on the counter. She also set a quick spell over them to prevent their house from becoming a pile of ashes if she happened to drift off.

Tonks sat herself down at the round table in the dining room adjacent to the kitchen and watched the front door. Her eyes drifted to the window where she saw snow was beginning to fall slowly. How perfect, the kids would have a white Christmas, she thought. This was the last thing she remembered as her eyelids grew heavy and the falling flakes lulled her into sleep.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." These were the words that broke into Tonks' consciousness several hours later. She didn't want to wake up, she was so comfortable. Her face was burrowed into her arm and she felt like she'd only drifted away a moment ago. But the feel of a smooth, soft finger on her cheek was enough to make her eyes open and look up.

It was Remus, he was home at last. She gazed up at him, just drinking him in for a moment. He cheeks were red and his hair windblown from the weather outside but his eyes were alight with happiness at seeing her. He had his checkered scarf from Molly Weasley around his neck and his large overcoat on. Tonks couldn't wait to rip that coat off him and give him his special Christmas gift.

"You're home!" She said in a hushes voice full of excitement.

"Yes, I come home and you're asleep?" he put on a look of mock anger. "How dare you fall asleep on your watch duties, ten points Mrs. Lupin."

"You sound like Mad-eye." She chuckled.

He grinned, "Could Mad-eye kiss like this?"

He took a step towards her and enveloped her in his arms. His coat was still cold from the wind outside. He pressed his lips to hers, gently at first. When they parted, Tonks remarked, "Your lips are cold. Let me warm them up for you."

Her small fingers twined into his thick, brown hair and his fingers squeezed her at the waist. When they parted again, Remus' eyes darted to her festively colored hair.

"Quite appropriate." He said, smiling as though this were the happiest day of his like.

Tonks hugged him tight around his waist, not wanting him to ever leave her again. "I'm so glad you were able to make it home for Christmas, Remus."

"So am I." He said and kissed her red and green locks. "Merry Christmas, darling."

-fin-


End file.
